


I Thought We Were Friends

by MichellesPenScratchz



Series: My Preposterous Borderlands Extended Universe [8]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Borderlands 3 Spoilers, CEO Rhys (Borderlands), Friendship, Gen, Handsome Jack Mentioned Only, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Missing Scene, No Romance, Non-Sexual, Panic, Short, Short One Shot, Tales From The Borderlands References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:00:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25770220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MichellesPenScratchz/pseuds/MichellesPenScratchz
Summary: “Zer0? C-c’mon, Man…I thought we were friends.”If there was an emoticon for “deaf ears,” Zer0 didn’t even deign to display it. The saber raised, and Rhys recoiled for a dismemberment that would undoubtedly make his last one years ago look pleasant.
Relationships: Katagawa Jr. & Rhys (Borderlands), Rhys & Zer0 (Borderlands)
Series: My Preposterous Borderlands Extended Universe [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1873684
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	I Thought We Were Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Small head-canon detail. I’m saying that Rhys isn’t wild about Echo-Comms in his ear anymore, because sudden voices in his head freak him out, for obvious reasons. So, he’s using one that’s custom built into his wristwatch.

“Vault Hunter! Zer0’s trying to kill me. He’s the traitor! I know, I can hardly believe it myself!” Rhys babbled frantically into the ECHO-Comm on his wristwatch.

In a sick way, he was almost glad the ominous laser pointer from Zer0’s sniper rifle found the spot between his eyes, forcing him to duck away as a shot was fired. He wasn’t sure if he could have brought himself to add “Help me!” or even “Whatever I’m paying you, I’ll double it!” to his ECHO plea anyway, given the chance.

Hell, if Katagawa Jr. could even buy Rhys’ closest friend, then odds were this Vault Hunter he barely knew was just waiting around to loot the Key fragment off his fresh corpse.

The second sniper shot struck him right in the chest, and his world exploded in a crackle of blue as his shield absorbed the round. He yelped and staggered back, tripping over a plush chair in the waiting area of his CEO’s office. Zer0 had picked that shield out for him personally when the Maliwan conflict started (shortly after Atlas had suddenly and inexplicably lost its full time Lead Weapons Tester). That meant Zer0 knew better than he knew how many shots it could take, before they hurt more than they already did.

Which was a lot, incidentally.

 _What did that creep offer you, Zer0? A Maliwan company car? Your own ninja PA? A whole damn country club?_ he thought despairingly as he dashed around the chair and beelined for his desk. He heard the sharp whistle of another shot just missing him.

 _What was worth turning your back on all we’ve been through, pal?_ He wished he could see the face behind that mask, to know whether or not there was any remorse there.

Not many mentally sound people could say they had bonded over killing the same megalomaniac on two separate occasions. But Zer0 had been present for the real Handsome Jack’s final words…even if his account of them had been highly stylized and in precise syllable counts.

And Rhys, in turn, had confided in Zer0 every grim word branded on his memory by Jack’s AI counterpart in those horrifying, agonizing final moments. It had been a huge weight lifted, saying it all to someone who could reply with genuine understanding.

At least he had _thought_ it to be understanding when Zer0 had said, “That sounds about right/A sole death couldn’t suffice/For a scourge like Jack.”

Now, as he slumped from sheer momentum onto his desk and mashed the panic button behind that photo, Rhys had to face the reality that he had never really known Zer0 at all.

Another shield crackle engulfed him as a sniper round found his back shoulder blade. In his experience, this wasn’t what remorse looked like.

The desk couldn’t have moved any slower, casually rolling back from the only hope for escape below. But Zer0 was in no rush, either. He approached the desk, looking every bit the employee about to announce his resignation. He holstered the sniper rifle and instead went for his saber. He twirled it, unhurriedly, and let it slice through the air with a slick _whoosh_ sound.

Rhys had seen Zer0 in action. They’d even co-defeated a Vault Monster once back on Pandora. He knew full well that Zer0 didn’t have to miss any of those sniper shots; he could have shattered the shield like a stained glass window by now. Then he could have raised that saber, and Rhys could have been a CEO kebob before feeling a thing. But Zer0 wanted him to run. Zer0 wanted him to squirm. This wasn’t like the Zer0 he thought he knew.

Rhys’ wristwatch purred with the snakelike voice of Katagawa Jr. taunting him. The watch face might as well have oozed slime as Maliwan’s fratricidal heir waxed toxic about how they could have been family, but now they were just competition. The escape hatch below the desk was open at last, but Rhys was frozen in place as Zer0 perched there, waiting to strike.

(“Make sure he suffers for his obstinance,” Katagawa Jr. must have told the assassin. “And your future with Maliwan will be assured.”)

The sound of the elevator opening down the vast length of the hall caused Zer0’s head to turn ever so slightly to the side. That was the only chance Rhys was going to get. He flung himself down the chute below the desk, with a sound he hoped they would leave out when they made the documentary of his life postmortem.

_The Tale of Rhys Strongfork: How To Lose Friends And Alienate People._

At the bottom of the descent he scrambled out onto the landing, eyes darting every which way. _C’mon… a maintenance hovercraft? A delivery ship? Something? Anything??_

While looking around in desperation, he failed to take note of what was directly below him. His heel turned as he slipped on an old forgotten shell casing—there since the first days of the Maliwan invasion, probably. He went tumbling, silently cursing negligent janitors the universe over.

He didn’t need to hear Zer0’s approach to sense it. Before even looking back, he knew his pursuer had been quick to follow him down the escape hatch. Again, that sword danced in a fist tightened with malice. How did it come to this? Would that be too much to ask?

Sprawled on the ground, Rhys found his voice. “Zer0? C-c’mon, Man…I thought we were friends.”

If there was an emoticon for “deaf ears,” Zer0 didn’t even deign to display it. The saber raised, and Rhys recoiled for a dismemberment that would somehow make his last one years ago look pleasant.

Metal clashed with metal as the saber struck its twin. Which had just appeared out of thin air, and was held steadfastly by…Zer0’s twin?

The second Zer0 parried the first Zer0’s flustered onslaught with little effort.

“Friends we still remain / Appearances may deceive / A fraud dons this mask,” said the intervening Zer0—the _real_ one, Rhys began to realize.

One precise slash from Real Zer0’s blade banished the mask, and revealed none other than the face of Katagawa Jr.

Someone else was emerging behind them from the escape hatch. Katagawa didn’t look pleased by the new Vault Hunter arrival. Not his reinforcements, then. “You should have joined the family, Rhys!” he snarled. There were already weapons trained on him from behind. The head of Maliwan had no allies here, and for the first time in this entire conflict Rhys had the advantage in that regard.

Zer0 took hold of Rhys’ arm to extend his cloaking ability to both of them, masking them from Katagawa’s view and leaving him to the ensuing fight. Sheer terror quickly gave way to relief…and admittedly a little humiliation that Rhys hadn’t seen the obvious clues of what was happening. Not that he’d ever admit it outright.

Instinctively, as Zer0 spirited him away, he drew a breath to call back to Katagawa, “I got my own family, right here!”

But a sharply raised finger from Zer0 inches in front of his face extinguished the words in his throat.

It would just be dumb to cheat death yet again, and then make a slip-up like that.

**Author's Note:**

> This scene was basically my reason for playing Borderlands 3, and is my fondest memory of the game in spite of its flaws. I had only just discovered Tales from the Borderlands a few months before BL3 came out, so (with Tales' merciless cliffhanger ending fresh in my mind) I was super stoked that Rhys survived the Vault and was coming back for 3. Which meant that bait-and-switch screenshot floating around of what looked like Zer0 attacking him had me legitimately worried for a month leading up to the release date. The relief the party and I all felt when this scene unfolded was a true gamer bonding experience.
> 
> The idea of having Zer0 actually respond to "I thought we were friends" came out of a Youtube comment thread. XD


End file.
